Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Twice in just a week's time ... it's unprecedented. Josh's buddy had some tickets he wasn't using for a Tuesday night UK game at Rupp Arena. We managed to get a sitter for the night (Aunt Kelly is awesome) and enjoyed dinner out at BJ's Brewhouse and then a late night buzzer beater from some pretty good seats in the low corner of the upper level ...

Friday, February 24, 2017

Connor has been wearing his hear longer the past few months, but he finally decided he'd had enough. We stopped by the local barber shop this afternoon to get his hair cut, and then we walked next door to get some Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner. Pretty sure he was happier about the Dr. Pepper than anything!

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Last fall, Xander joined a Special Olympics basketball team. He was one of the youngest and smallest members of the team, but still had a great time shooting baskets and learning to play on a team. His team had the special honor of being invited to play in the first ever Unified Blue White Game at Rupp Arena with some past University of Kentucky players. He got to shoot baskets in Rupp Arena, meet and learn skills from past players, then tour the locker rooms at the end of the night. And to Xander, it was just another big court to play and shoot baskets! He also loved the giant electronic scoreboard / speaker on the ceiling. That was probably his favorite part of the day!

Xander shooting during warm ups ...

Showing off his basketball of choice for the evening ...

Standing at center court ...

Drills with past players ...

Drills with past players ...

Some one on one coaching ...

Taking a break with Dad in the lower level stands ...

Touring the locker room ...

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. We have loved our Special Olympics Kentucky experiences!

Monday, February 20, 2017

After a busy afternoon out with Mom and brothers, Xander got to see his usual CLS worker Jack tonight. With the warmer weather, Xander is revisiting one of his favorite activities ... fishing at the city park. He LOVES to go fish. Sometimes he even catches one or two!

More President's Day fun ... Connor doesn't get as many opportunities to go as his brothers, but he had fun visiting this arts and crafts studio one day while his brothers were at their weekly occupational therapy appointment (they're right next door to each other). Love his creativity and how he makes everything his own instead of following the patterns or suggested designs.

For one of Connor's middle school classes, he had to do a service project and then write about what he chose and why. Connor looked at the proposed list of possibilities (students were also allowed to come up with their own, subject to approval), he decided he wanted to do something to help the military. He's a WWII history buff, and has a fascination with wars and soldiers in general. So we opted to volunteer at a military mission place here in town. There weren't opportunities to assist with a package preparation and delivery (the next one was happening after his due date), so the organizers suggested that Connor could write letters or draw pictures to show his support. And that's what he ended up doing. We spent several afternoons and weekends working on colorful drawings and letters for the organization to put into their next package of deliveries ...

President's Day means the boys are home from school. And since the weather is pretty nice for our part of the world this time of year, we decided to get out of the house and go for a little adventure. We had lunch at Backyard Burger, one of the few places all three are pretty happy with their meals, and then we took a walk on the local Rails to Trails path near our house ...

We also made our way over to one of the city parks to play on the playground for a while (it was really crowded, and our boys don't do crowds all that well) and then walk on the walking trail by the train tracks (a big draw for Xander) ...

Saturday, February 18, 2017

On Saturday afternoon, Xander and I headed up to Northern Kentucky to play in the regional tournament for his Special Olympics basketball league. We've only played three regular season games, and this is his first year, so we weren't sure exactly what to expect.

Sawyer and Connor stayed home with Aunt Kelly and Grammy for an afternoon of fun. Dad was working at the fire station.

Xander played in both games, but he had the most fun in the second game. The first game, he mostly ran up and down the court looking confused and trying to get people to pass him the ball (sorry, kiddo, they don't pass to the small guy much). But the second game was a big deal ...

Xander dribbled the ball up on a fast break and made his first basket during an actual game. He was so happy, and so very proud of himself. Many of the team parents, who've watched and cheered all season long as he learns his way around this new sport and format, cheered really loud when he scored. And that made him even happier!

In addition to that basket, he also got fouled on another attempt. And he made both of his free throw shots. He was even more excited!

And to make the day even better, their team won both games for the day, making them first place in their division. So there were shiny gold medals at the end of the day, something else Xander LOVES to get.

So other than it being a little bit of a long day (long drive, followed by two back to back games, the a long drive back home in the rain), it was a good day. He scored his first points during a game (four of them total) and he got another shiny medal to add to his collection. He also will have another chance to add another one at state games next month if his team can have another victory!

Sunday, February 12, 2017

We've had more trouble finding consistent help for Xander than we do for Sawyer (have I mentioned Aunt Kelly is awesome?). So a lot of days end up being Mommy, Connor and Xander days. Today we decided to walk the puppy on the Rails to Trails path, then do lunch out, then get some fresh air and enjoy the sunny skies that popped out later in the day ...

Rails to Trails walking with Bruno ...

Lunch at Arby's (Xander's choice, but Connor goes along if you get him mozzarella sticks as the side) ...

Scooters in the neighborhood (the driveway is wet because Mommy washed the car) ...

Saturday, February 11, 2017

One of the things we've worked on for years in therapy is simply play skills, things like learning to follow rules and take turns, engaging with other people and general social skills. This doesn't come easy for either of the twins, but Xander has learned to enjoy parts of it. He's incredibly athletic and competitive, and that even translates to board games. He's come so far with the help of the amazing Miss Michelle at occupational therapy. And he loves to play games (read: he loves to WIN games).

Scrabble was my choice for the day. He doesn't love it, but he will play it to get to his choice of game.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Another Thursday, another Special Olympics basketball game. Xander is slowly getting used to the format, though he's not all that happy about it. He LOVES to shoot baskets. As one of the youngest, and therefore smallest, players on the team, he doesn't get many opportunities to shoot during the actual game. He dribbles the ball back up court, where he supposed to pass. Or, sometimes, he simply travels with the ball and tries to get to his sweet spot, about five feet out from the goal to shoot! He had a special cheerleader in the audience tonight, he beloved special education teacher from school. He LOVES Mrs. B, and has been having a great year in her classroom. He was so excited to see her in the stands, and came over to sit next to her during several breaks when he was off the court!

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Sawyer has two food groups. Pizza and chicken fingers. It makes up about 95 percent of his meals. And I loved this pic that Aunt Kelly snapped on one of their outings this week, visiting the local Pizza Hut where he eats 95 percent of the pizza, too. Kelly gets one or two slices, maybe, and he eats the rest!

The last year of elementary school means the last year of a lot of things. And this will be the last year for making school valentine's. Xander and Sawyer both enjoy these foam art projects we pick up at Michael's.

Friday, February 3, 2017

If you're going to be sick all winter, the very least Mommy can do is take you somewhere good for breakfast after all of these back to back doctor's appointments. Sawyer chose IHOP for today's visit ... chicken and waffles. He was much more interested in the chicken than the waffles. Mommy however was more interested in her stuffed french toast than anything!